Profile

Born in Tokyo in 1974, Toshiaki Murakami began piano studies with Keiko Shiono. At fifteen, he began conducting studies with Masamitsu Takahashi, and then, as a student at Toho Gakuen School of Music, continued studies with Seiji Ozawa, Hideomi Kuroiwa and Kazuyoshi Akiyama.

While still a student, he went on to act as assistant to Seiji Owaza at the New Japan Philharmonic, the Saito Kinen Orchestra. In 1996, 1997 and 2000, as a participant in the Suntory Hall Opera, he acted as assistant to Gustav Kuhn and Daniel Oren.

Mr. Murakami traveled to Germany to study with Mathias Husmann at Hochschule der Künste Berlin. At the same time, he also pursued studies at the Universität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Wien under Leopold Hager and Yuji Yuasa.

Conducting engagements thus far in his career have included concerts with the Berliner Symphoniker, the Szeged Symphony Orchestra, and in 1999 and 2002, Mr. Murakami conducted the Takemitsu Memorial Concert at the Saito Kinen Festival Matsumoto.

In 2000, as a Fellow at the Tanglewood Music Festival, he studied with Seiji Ozawa, Robert Spano and André Previn. The following year, Tanglewood invited him to return as an assistant.

In 2001, in addition to his position as assistant during Seiji Ozawa Ongaku-juku, he worked as the chorus conductor for the Saito Kinen Festival’s production of Jenůfa (Janáček). And also as a chorus conductor he worked with Simon Rattle.

This season, 2002, has thus far been highlighted by his opera debut with the Seiji Ozawa Ongaku-juku Special Concert of Don Giovanni, and marks his major orchestral debut with the New Japan Philharmonic as a part of the NEC Super Tower Concert.

In 2004 he moved to work as a pianist and a conducter at the Landestheater Linz. From 2006 he was working in at the Staatsoper Hannover as a Kapellmeister.

He conducted with Seiji Ozawa for Seiji Ozawa music academy Opera project two years in a row, J.Strauss Ⅱ: Die Fledermaus in 2016, G. Bizet "Carmen" in 2017.

He also has enthusiasm for teaching young musicians, and thus he teach at Toho Gakuen School of Music, Tokyo University of the arts, and New National teather Tokyo.